*The Teuton Horde*

Born attackers, the Teuton are up and raiding fastest and cheapest of all the tribes with the Clubswinger unit. Beware the tendency to ignore defense! Every Teuton unit has a defensive weakness: their scouts are slow and weak when they meet resistance from a Pathfinder or Equites Legate; their spearmen are next to helpless against infantry and their cavalry takes great losses from incoming horse, the Earth Wall is pitiful compared to the other tribes. However, their offensive strengths more than make up for this deficit and combined defense will cover the weak points. In other words, make some Paladin to support those Spearmen - a Stable is easy to forget when so many units can be made in the Teuton Barracks.

A Teuton has the cheapest Chief and so 'persuading' other players' villages to come over to your side is a very good option for expanding your domain. Note to the noob: don't waste your Chief on small villages - a village of under 500 is probably easier to build yourself unless someone has been so foolish as to not make their cropper into their Capital in which case the future benefits may outweigh the expense of a Chief.

Special ability: Brewery increases attack values at the expense of catapult accuracy and Chief coherence.

*The Gaulish Hoard*

Defenders! A Gaul's Cranny protects more and their base unit the Phalanx is an excellent defense against all comers - unfortunately they sacrifice speed and carrying capacity and you will have to researth Teutatis Thunder to improve your raiding ability. Which is not to say you cannot raid with a Phalanx! Nothing matches the Gaulish horse for speed and a combined defense of Druidriders and Haeduan is formidable - if you can afford them. This is especially so where you might want to move the defense around very quickly. As a hammer it is difficult to justify Gaul cavalry compared to their Swordsman, who will provide a good attack at a reasonable price and whose slower speed is not a matter of concern when accompanied by plodding siege weapons.

The Palisade provides a decent defense which combined with the Cranny and the unique Trapper provides the safest way to get going in the early game, especially for a beginner - which is not to say that Gaul is a beginner tribe, far from it! We should also recommend Gaul to those who are less able to access the game due to work, school and other responsibilities because these defensive abilities will preserve Resources while you are away (you should still have a sitter though, tell me you have at least one sitter).

*The Roman Cohort*

Best builders: an excellent choice for those with smaller pocketbooks, as you can build both Resources and Buildings at the same time (Gold users can still buy the extra queue in addition to the normal Roman ability, allowing them to build three items at a time).

A Roman Wall is simply the best, providing a huge defensive boost, but the mediocre Legionnaire will need some support to defend it: although the 'Lego' is a good all-around unit, the Praetorian Guard will vastly improve defense against incoming infantry. Being more expensive, slower, able to carry less than a Clubswinger, the Legionnaire should nevertheless be employed to raiding small villages as soon as possible!

The cost of Roman horses is outrageous, however they do have some redeeming qualities: the Equites Legati is a comparable unit to the Pathfinder and will defend against those pesky Scouts just as well. Equites Imperatoris are excellent raiders comparable in speed and carrying ability to the Paladin but, as with all Roman cavalry, more expensive. Consult the Short Instruction under the Help feature and compare the finer details of both your units and those of others: it will come in handy for strategy and tactics throughout the game.

Special ability: Horse Watering Trough, brings the enormous feeding cost of Roman horses in line with other tribes.